ARTS, BRIEFLY; No Marriage For Bert and Ernie

By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS

Published: August 13, 2011

For more than 40 years, a pair of famous friends have shared a home, a bedroom and even bath time - as well as proximity to a certain rubber duck. And for almost as many years, questions have swirled around like draining bathwater: Are these two men gay?

Well, they're puppets, actually, the producers of ''Sesame Street'' said in a statement on Thursday, so Bert and Ernie do not have a sexual orientation.

The long-running television show addressed the sexuality (or lack thereof) of Bert and Ernie in response to an online petition that asked the program to ''Let Bert and Ernie Get Married.''

The petition, which was posted last week on change.org, a social activism Web site, said that marrying these felted-friends would teach self-acceptance and tolerance to children. It also suggested that ''Sesame Street '' add a transgender character to its fuzzy lineup.

''Let us teach tolerance of those that are different,'' it said.

The petition generated more than 6,400 signatures by Thursday evening, and also a lot of buzz.

The potential nuptials took up airtime on several television programs, including ''Good Day New York'' and CNN's ''Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.'' An editorial in The New York Daily News on Wednesday poo-pooed the idea, saying, ''Why stop there? Why not march Yogi Bear and Boo Boo down the aisle, too?'' And OneMillionMoms.com, a conservative Web site, started a counterpetition demanding that PBS not marry the longtime roommates.

But Sesame Workshop, which produces ''Sesame Street,'' put an end to any wedding planning on Thursday with this brief statement posted on its Facebook page:

Bert and Ernie are best friends. They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves.

Even though they are identified as male characters and possess many human traits and characteristics (as most Sesame Street Muppets do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.